The Linksland Renaissance: Why Smart Golfers Are Ditching the Prestige Courses

After 35 years covering professional golf, I’ve watched the game’s geography shift dramatically. Courses that once felt exclusive and aspirational now feel, well, exhausting—both logistically and financially. But here’s what’s intriguing me right now: there’s a quiet revolution happening on the British and Irish coasts, and it’s not being driven by the tour or the marketing departments. It’s being driven by golfers who’ve done the math.

The article highlighting five underrated linksland courses—Gullane No. 3, Perranporth, Elie, Newbiggin, and Borth—isn’t just a travel guide. It’s a blueprint for what I think represents the future of golf tourism in the UK and Ireland. And frankly, it’s refreshing.

The Prestige Trap

I caddied for Tom Lehman back in the ’90s, and I remember the scramble to play the “famous” courses. St Andrews. Muirfield. Royal Dornoch. The waiting lists were brutal; the prices weren’t much better. What’s changed isn’t the quality of these layouts—they’re still magnificent. What’s changed is the accessibility equation, and more importantly, the value proposition for the average golfer.

When you’re paying £200-plus for a round at a championship venue, you’re paying for history and prestige. Sometimes, honestly, you’re paying for the privilege of taking a selfie at the 18th. I’m not being cynical here; I understand the appeal. But I also understand that most golfers—even serious ones—want to play golf, not genuflect at golf’s altar.

That’s where this curated list becomes genuinely interesting.

The Hidden Gem Strategy

What strikes me about these five courses is that they solve a problem without compromising on the experience. Consider Gullane No. 3: you’re in one of golf’s most storied regions—literally yards from Muirfield—but you’re paying £70 for a weekday round instead of £250. The article makes an excellent point:

“Gullane is a special town. Everyone in golf knows about St Andrews – the greatest golf town of them all – but Gullane, a few miles east of Edinburgh, is the next best thing.”

I’ve covered enough Scottish Opens to know that Gullane’s hybrid course has hosted major professional events. The turf is world-class. The wind comes off the North Sea with the same authority it does at St Andrews. The views across the Firth of Forth rival anything you’ll find in championship golf. And yet, because it’s “the lesser of the trio,” you’re getting premium linksland golf at pub prices.

That’s not a consolation prize. That’s a victory.

The Linksland Variety

In my three decades covering the tour, I’ve noticed something about linksland courses: they’re never boring, but they’re never quite the same either. The geology, the wind patterns, the local character—they all vary dramatically based on location and history.

Perranporth in Cornwall exemplifies this beautifully. Here you’re in England’s far southwest, dealing with Atlantic swells visible from the tees and dramatic sandhills that feel almost alien compared to the Scottish courses. The article captures this well:

“This is what makes linksland golf special: it demands imagination and Perranporth calls for it even more than usual.”

At £60 to start, you’re getting a course that will test your creativity and shot-making in ways that a manicured American resort course simply cannot. That’s worth something.

The Regional Surprises

Here’s where I think the article does its best work: highlighting regions that golfers consistently overlook. Newbiggin on England’s northeast coast, for instance, starts at just £30. Yes, the early holes play toward a power station. Yes, the course has industrial scars. But the article doesn’t hide these facts; instead, it acknowledges them and moves on:

“But don’t let that put you off. Newbiggin is flat but never one dimensional. At one point you tee off over an old coastal quarry.”

That’s honest golf writing. And the golf is honest too—quirky, character-filled, and unpretentious in a way that’s increasingly rare.

Wales gets equal attention with Borth, where the railway access alone makes it practical for visitors without a rental car, and the £43 starting rate makes it genuinely accessible. I’ve played enough courses where the drive takes longer than the round itself; proximity matters in real-world golf tourism.

The Bigger Picture

What I think is happening here is a democratization of experience. For decades, quality linksland golf was gatekept by cost and reputation. You either paid premium prices for championship venues or settled for questionable parkland courses that had “links” in their name but little else in common with the real thing.

Now, thanks partly to better information and partly to courses recognizing they can build sustainable business models around accessibility rather than scarcity, genuinely skilled golfers can sample authentic linksland experiences for £30-£80. That changes everything about golf travel planning.

Having covered 15 Masters and countless tour events, I can tell you that professional golf will always be about the championship venues and the prestige events. That’s the tour’s lifeblood. But recreational golf? That’s evolving. And it’s evolving in a direction that makes the game more inclusive without sacrificing quality.

These five courses—Gullane No. 3, Perranporth, Elie, Newbiggin, and Borth—represent that evolution. They’re not the “next best thing” to playing St Andrews or Muirfield. They’re the best thing for golfers who want to play real linksland golf without funding a second mortgage.

That’s not settling. That’s just smart golf.